Ensemble: The Klezmer Rebs
In a chain reaction to a Jewish cultural renaissance in the United States of
Kol Simcha in Switzerland, Sabbath Hela Veckan in Sweden, and the Klezmer Rebs
who started playing together in Wellington, New Zealand in 2001 (Signer, 16 May
2009, pers.comm). Since this time the Klezmer Rebs have regularly performed at
weddings and bar mitzvahs at the Temple Sinai and at many other cultural or political
concerts, such as the Newtown Fair and at The Peace Festival in Parihaka in 2008
(Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm). The ensemble has a loyal following who relate to
the expressive human element in klezmer music, which Mark Slobin describes as the
Jewish vocal aesthetic which underlies the ‘tear in the voice’ and the ‘laughter through
tears’ (Slobin 2000:99). Eight members of the Klezmer Rebs are shown below.
Figure 15: The Klezmer Rebs
Back row left: Dave Moscovitz, Urs Signer, Heather Elder, Dave Weinstein, Jonathan Dunn. Front row left: Sue Esterman, Rose O’Hara, Nikki Lichtner, 2008
Photography by Rob Kilvington
Profile: Urs Signer
The Klezmer Rebs web-site describes Urs Signer as
An accomplished clarinettist, composer, activist and anarchist. Originally from Switzerland, he’s made Aotearoa his home, and prefers to spend his time in Taranaki whenever he has the chance. Urs is a uniquely talented muso whose amazing solos come straight from the soul, seemingly unfettered by structure. His favorite time signatures are dominated by ones containing large odd numbers. (Moscovitz, 2010)
In the Wellington group the Klezmer Rebs the clarinettist, Urs Signer, plays a
pivotal role in extending, partnering and mimicking the vocalists in the ensemble,
communicating the Ashkenazic Jewish identity of the group to the audience in his
expressive and colourful clarinet improvisations. It is also very interesting to note how
Urs’ political attitudes have influenced the other members of the Klezmer Rebs, to some
extent prompting the ensemble to become a vehicle for their political activist and
socialist identity.
With the importance of Jewish culture to klezmer music it would seem natural
that Urs would have some Jewish heritage. Interestingly this is not the case, as he grew
up in Switzerland in a non-religious social-democrat family of teachers, and he is the
only key member of the Klezmer Rebs without direct Jewish cultural links (Signer,
22 July 2010, pers.comm). His introduction to classical music was through singing
Schubert songs with his father at a very early age. First playing classical, then jazz at
intermediate School, he discovered klezmer music and the world of improvisation at the
age of thirteen. Urs explained that he did not know many Jewish people in Basel, but
he wanted to convert to Judaism when he was nine years old as an act of solidarity,
when he learned about the Holocaust. He commented that it was not until he joined the
Klezmer Rebs in late 2004 that he started going to Temple Sinai, the Wellington
Progressive Synagogue, where he learned about Jewish culture and religion (Signer,
22 July 2010, pers.comm).
Urs explained that the clarinettist he most admires is Michael Heitzler of the
famous klezmer group Kol Simcha, which is also from his home city of Basel in
Switzerland. He mentioned that ‘his tone and technique are magnificent and he is also
an incredible improviser’. When he was still at Secondary School Urs said that he spent
Urs it was Heitzler who introduced him to the extremes of the altissimo register playing
in a smooth and virtuosic way up to the very top notes. Urs commented ‘that is a really
liberating aspect of the clarinettist’s role in klezmer music: you can squeak and squeal
around the high register and still sound good!’ (Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm). In
addition to klezmer music Urs plays many different genres such as contemporary
classical, jazz, free improvisation, funk and hip-hop. He is also a composer and a
singer-songwriter and he has written several songs for the Klezmer Rebs.
Vocal Influences in Clarinet Playing
In Fiddler on the Move Mark Slobin quotesMax Epstein as saying ‘never play it
the same way twice – never… [there is] the sense that instruments, to be successful,
authentically need to sound like voices’ (Slobin 2000:95). Urs seems to instinctively
understand this concept as he was always told by his teachers that he needed to be able
to ‘sing’ his playing, which he actively tries to do in his improvisation in klezmer, jazz
and funk ensembles. Using singing as a practice tool, he uses it to create ‘clear licks
and lines’. As he commented, ‘I could be walking down the street humming melodies
in my head not for the sake of singing, but for practising my solo skills on the clarinet’.
Urs also commented that in order to produce a good tone on the clarinet, a combination
of a good clarinet and reed, abdominal support and a developed embouchure is
necessary (Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm).
Klezmer Rebs’ singer and trumpet player Dave Moscovitz commented that ‘the
clarinet and the violin are the central authentic voices of early Klezmer’ (Moscovitz,
20 April 2009, pers.comm), and it is these instruments which are used to extend the
voice to display humour, pathos and everyday life in the Klezmer Rebs. In the songs
‘Kumt Kumt Khaverim’ and ‘Ochi Chorniye’ Urs demonstrated a ‘vocal’ style of
the voice. There were also gentler moments as in songs such as ‘Ersate Vals’ with a
male vocalist, and ‘Bokserboym’ with a female vocalist, where Urs played with vibrato,
on repeated held notes, with low trills, then partnered the voice in thirds to convey a
close rapport between vocalist and instrumentalist. In an interview with me, Band
leader David Weinstein described the vocal qualities of Urs’ clarinet playing,
commenting that ‘Urs does it really well, that it recreates the sound of the human voice,
either crying or wailing or in joy or in sorrow’ (Weinstein, 27 March 2009, pers.comm).
An example of this is shown in the figure below at a concert at the Palmerston North
City Library.
Figure 16: The Klezmer Rebs at the Palmerston North City Library, 2010
From left: Jonathan Dunn, Urs Signer, David Moscovitz, David Weinstein, Heather Elder
Performance Descriptions
The first Klezmer Rebs rehearsal I attended was in a spacious meeting room at the
Temple Sinai Synagogue in April 2009. The cooperative organisation of the ensemble
was reflected in the way that members gathered in a loose circle facing each other and
started a ‘round’ of comments from each person about current concerns, upcoming
Rebs perform about twenty pieces such as ‘Als dr Rebel’, ‘Minnie the Moocher’,
‘Bashana’, ‘Lo Gisa Yoy Medley’, ‘Der Heyser Bulgar’, and ‘Az der Rebbe Elimelekh’.
In these pieces the guitar, keyboards and accordion and helicon (similar to a
sousaphone) blended to provide a rhythmic backdrop to the soloists (vocalists, clarinet,
violin, trumpet and trombone), and at times they took a lead role as well. The use of a
variety of percussion instruments, such as tambourines, shakers and wood-scrapers
added different timbres and helped with a variety of rhythmic and tempo changes.
I observed that Urs played his clarinet with an open throat and a flexible
embouchure, which allowed him maximum expression of the tonal and pitch colours of
the instrument, imitating the singing style of a Jewish cantor. His soft reed contributed
to a slightly nasal sound in the upper register, but the clarinet also played gentle
soothing patterns in the low register when accompanying a singer, as in the introduction
to the song ‘Bashana’. In improvised solos Urs played fast arpeggiated patterns,
swoops, glides, trills, ornaments, repetitive phrases and flutter-tonguing using the
clarinet as an extension of the voice. Employing these dramatic effects allowed Urs to
convey humour, joy and creative energy in tunes such as ‘Kumt Kumt Khaverim’,
‘Lebedik un Frelach’, ‘Sher’ and ‘Ochi Chorniye’. The intensity and commitment of his
sound, the dexterity of his altissimo playing and the ‘vocal’ interjections such as ‘hey,
hey’ on the clarinet seemed to provide the ‘dybbuk’ or restless spirit for the group.
The varied instruments in the Klezmer Rebs added an aural and visual character to
the ensemble, reinforcing the text of the songs with glissandi, rapid stops and starts,
harmonic playing, counter-melodic playing, extreme speed changes, rhythmic feels,
syncopation, long held notes and percussive drive. The Yiddish language created a
sense of mystery and it was enhanced by the varied styles of different vocalists (tempo
At a fundraising concert on June 2 2009 at St Andrews on the Terrace, I observed
that the Klezmer Rebs demonstrated their socialist identity to a capacity audience. All
nine members were dressed in colourful and quirky outfits, complete with distinctive
hats, and they played standing to allow for freedom of movement. The extroverted
performers in the Klezmer Rebs encouraged the audience to engage in musical
exchanges with the band through clapping, tapping, singing chorus lines in ‘Minnie the
Moocher’and ‘Ot Azoi’, and calling out in appreciation at the end of songs. The ‘Rebs’
appeared to be ‘in the moment’, chatting amicably through the medium of their
instruments and song lyrics and telling jokes to one another in the klezmer musical
idiom. The musicians showed their sensitive listening skills so that even at the height of
excitement in the songs they did not ‘cut across’ each others’ solos. Their new sound
system blended the disparate colour and volume of the nine instruments and several
voices, so that every part could be heard clearly, which was an improvement on the
balance at rehearsals. During this concert the Klezmer Rebs provided a unique musical
platform for Ashkenazic Jewish cultural expression which emanated in an inclusive way
to the audience.
In my opinion the Klezmer Rebs CD Just Add Schmalz reflects the eclecticism in
klezmer music which was influenced by Turkish, Greek, Moldavian, Romanian,
Ukrainian and Armenian cultures, even before it crossed the Atlantic and absorbed
swing, jazz and latin styles into the musical mix. Not only is there a mixture of musical
styles, but also of musical forms in klezmer music ranging from free-flowing
improvisational Doinas, to syncopated beat Bulgars and joyous celebratory Freylachs
for dancing. There are songs for the Sabbath, lullabies, love songs, friendly ‘insulting’
Cultural Heritage
In his role as clarinettist with the Klezmer Rebs, Urs acts as a conduit for
Ashkenazic Jewish identity (Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm). By playing for both the
Progressive and the Orthodox Synagogues in Wellington, the ensemble draws the two
communities together in both formal and celebratory music making. When the band
plays for a bar mitzvah at one of the synagogues there could be up to one hundred and
twenty families present, and in this way the Klezmer Rebs’ music acts as a conduit of
Ashkenazic Jewish cultural identity to create a sense of belonging. Urs commented that
the overall emotion was 'collectivity' or 'togetherness' in the Klezmer Rebs, and that the
most important aspects of playing with the Klezmer Rebs were ‘the emotion, the sense
of belonging together and creating music together’ (Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm).
Urs also reflects his identification and engagement with Maori in his choice to
live in the Parihaka Maori community in Taranaki. In an interview he commented that
although he does not have a Maori heritage, it does influence his thinking, commenting
that ‘maybe some of that ends up in my improvisations, certainly in my compositions’.
He mentioned that he is not religious but he has found the sense of community at
synagogue events important. Urs explained that, ‘for me that place [the synagogue] is
alive, just like the marae here at Parihaka, or our anarchist social centre on Abel Smith
Street in Wellington. He commented that ‘finding’ the Rebs had given him good
friends and also an insight into a community that was strong and vibrant with strong
values which were similar to his own. In response to a question about musical
authenticity in the Klezmer Rebs, Urs answered that, ‘together, we were trying to create
music, we were not trying to be authentic to someone else’s thinking, but to be true to
Leadership Role
As can be seen in the figure below klezmer musicians were originally the itinerant
fringe dwellers in the Jewish shtetl (ghettos), who were both marginalised, but also free
agents of musical and political change in society (Klezmer Rebs 2007). Urs identifies
with this role as a free agent of change, and he expresses his love of freedom and his
deep concern for human equality in his expressive and ‘vocal’ style of clarinet playing.
As a political activist he has also influenced the other members of the Klezmer Rebs to
play certain repertoire such as ‘Bella Ciao’ at certain events to show their political
support (Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm).
Figure 17: Klezmorim 1910
Photograph courtesy of the Klezmer Rebs web-site
In an interview with me Urs explained that he is interested in the ways in which
music has historically been used to document political struggle. In his view it has been
one of the survival strategies to cope with persecution over the centuries. He remarked
that klezmer music has a rich repertoire of political songs, representing the struggle of
the working classes, for example Jewish historical immigration to the United States of
America ‘The Promised Land.’ He described how on their arrival in New York City,
into leftwing socialist groups. There are many Jewish political songs from that time, for
example ‘Ale Brider’ which means ‘All Brothers Together’ (Signer, 22 July 2010,
pers.comm).
This politicisation of klezmer music is not restricted to the United States of
America, and because of Urs’ influence, it has been adopted to some extent by the
Klezmer Rebs in Wellington, New Zealand (Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm). Urs
researched the issues with Maori land rights and sovereignty, and he became an active
supporter of their cause, deciding to spend more time at Parihaka in Taranaki. As a
result of his activism in issues supporting Maori sovereignty, the Klezmer Rebs decided
to support Urs in this issue, and to be more openly political in their music. It also
encouraged Urs to write some political songs such as ‘Anarchia Totale’, in which he
voiced his support for Maori sovereignty. Urs says that when the group wants to
convey a political message their playing highlights ‘feelings of rebellion, justice and
freedom’ (Signer, 22 July 2010, pers.comm). The Klezmer Rebs have also played at
solemn occasions, for example a remembrance of the Holocaust, at which they choose
their repertoire carefully to suit the mood of the event.
Conduit of Music in Diverse Ensembles
Urs demonstrated what the famous Klezmer clarinettist Giora Feidman said,
‘Klezmer means that the instruments are essentially the loudspeakers of the ‘inner
voice’ singing in everyone’s soul. A Klezmer doesn’t make music, he speaks, prays and
consoles with his instrument’ (Klezmer Music in a Few Words 2010). Urs extends,
mimics, partners and amplifies the voice in his clarinet playing in the Klezmer Rebs,
using a variety of klezmer gustn (chromatic modes). In his uninhibited solos he uses the
entire range of the clarinet, especially the altissimo register, playing ornaments, trills,
Urs appears to personify the ‘restlessness and spiritual spark of a dybbuk (a displaced
soul seeking a body), and he acts as an expressive conduit of Ashkenazic Jewish music
(Slobin 2002:68).
The Klezmer Rebs welcome visiting musicians to sit in on their rehearsals and
they actively promote the exchange of musical styles that this allows. They feel part of
a world music community working in Wellington, surrounded by groups such as the
Wellington Community Choir, Tango Vivo, Kugeltov, Sam Manzanza and other
musical groups which focus on the cultural context of their music (Weinstein, 27 March
2009, pers.comm).
Urs blends his Swiss heritage and his identification with Jewish and Maori values
to create an eclectic cultural mix. Through his political activism and his empathy for
Maori sovereignty, Urs has influenced the members of the Klezmer Rebs to become
more outwardly political. In his leadership role Urs encourages the ensemble to
perform his political activist songs, and to perform at certain activist, socialist, and
ethnic minority events. Acting as an expressive conduit of Ashkenazic Jewish culture,
Urs’ role on the clarinet is that of a creative spark to drive the band to a new state of
musical and political awareness.
Conclusion
In my research with the four clarinettists in the case studies, Andrzej Nowicki,
Debbie Rawson, Greg Rogan and Urs Signer, I discovered that each one ‘sings’ into
their clarinet to create different musical effects in their ensembles. Using the clarinet as
an extension, they partner, imitate, amplify and replace the voice, using the sonic
possibilities offered by the four and a half octave range of the instrument. Playing in
mouthpiece/reed combinations and techniques to achieve the appropriate stylistic sound
for their ensemble.
I observed that in the contemporary art music collective, the SMP Ensemble,
Andrzej displayed vocal expression by playing over the entire range of the instrument,
using multiphonics, flutter-tonguing, electronic amplification and by removing the
mouthpiece to blow directly into the clarinet bore. It appeared to me that Debbie
demonstrated numerous examples where she ‘sang’ through her clarinet in classical
music, using a more conventional classical embouchure and mouthpiece and reed
combination to create a pure rounded tone with accurate intonation. It was evident that
in The Shepherd On The Rock she partnered and echoed the vocal line throughout the
work, and in the New Zealand Clarinet Quartet she used the clarinet to imitate
New Zealand birdsong, and a swarm of humming bees. At Greg’s performance I
noticed that he played his clarinet with a flexible tone to partner the singer in the
Blackbird Jazz Trio, and at times to extend the vocalisation through solo improvisation.
It was evident that he also replaced the vocal line at times, playing the main tunes